The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service has written to AIB chief executive Mr Michael Buckley to ask that the bank appear before its next meeting on May 26th as scheduled.

Mr Buckley wrote to the committee chairman, Mr Seán Fleming TD, earlier this week, stating that while the bank was happy to appear before it next week, he believed it might be better if it postponed this visit until after mid-July.

By then, the investigation into the bank's overcharging of some foreign exchange customers - to the tune of €20 million - and into the assigning of payment protection policies without the knowledge of some mortgage holders, will have been completed.

On receipt of the letter, various committee members suggested that the bank should meet them as arranged next Wednesday to discuss broader policy issues, stating that their questioning would not compromise the ongoing investigations.

These views were expressed in a reply prepared by Mr Fleming which is due to be issued to AIB over the weekend. Last night, AIB said that they have yet to receive the letter.

Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Fleming said the committee had asked Mr Buckley to reconsider the bank's position.

"We believe that the issues that we want to raise won't represent a conflict for the bank. We will be focusing on public policy issues."

Mr Fleming noted that AIB executives appeared before the committee last autumn and made a presentation on bank charges.

The Committee asked the chairman to remind the bank of some of its representatives' contributions at that stage, and aspects of those presentations have been quoted in the letter.

Mr Fleming has asked Mr Buckley to respond to the committee before Wednesday. Yesterday, he said he hoped the bank would now consider accepting its invitation to meet its members next week.